It is time to leave Istanbul to explore another region of Turkey, Cappadocia. We go by plane with a departure from the hotel well before dawn…

Cappadocia is located in the centre of the country. It is a well-known region which attracts tourists for its very special geology, and how people have occupied it. Imagine rocky cones that served as homes and as religious sites to the early Christians who lived in the region after the fall of the Roman Empire in the 4th century. In fact, they dug their churches and homes in the rocks to protect themselves from invasion. The few churches that can be visited today often have frescoes (painted pictures on the walls) of breathtaking beauty, most painted there over 800 years ago!

Uçhisar: Une petite ville au coeur de la Cappadoce où nous avons établi nos pénates dans une charmante pension (Kilim Pansyon). La ville est construite à flanc de collines et possède plusieurs habitations troglodytes. / A small town in the heart of Cappadocia where we settled in a charming guesthouse (Kilim Pansyon). The city is built on a hillside and has several cave dwellings.A notre arrivée à la pension le matin, nous avons joint la promenade quotidienne et visité la Vallée des Pigeonniers (Güvercinlik Vadisi), nous permettant de découvrir nos premières maisons troglodytes. / When we arrived at the pension in the morning, we joined the daily walk and visited the Valley of the Pigeon (Güvercinlik Vadisi), allowing us to discover our first cave houses.Çavuşin: Un village avec plusieurs maisons troglodytes dont certaines ont été rénovées ou converties en hôtel (mais pas celles sur les photos!). / A village with many cave houses some of which have been renovated or converted to hotels (though not those on the pictures!)Des habitations troglodytes qui nous ont fait penser à un village des Schtroumpfs. Au coucher du soleil, toute la vallée se maquille de rose. / Cave houses that reminded us of a Smurf village. At sunset, the entire valley is painted pink.Çavuşin Kilisesi: L’Église de Nicéphore Phocas possède une superbe collection de fresques. / The Church of Nikephoros Phokas has a superb collection of frescoes.Göreme Açık Hava Müze: Le musée en plein air de Göreme, l’endroit le plus visité de la région, offre la belle collection d’églises rupestres avec des fresques superbement conservées. Malheureusement, il est interdit d’y prendre des photos (trop de touristes oublient d’éteindre leur flash!) mais un des gardiens nous a permis d’en prendre quelques unes. À noter qu’il est préférable de visiter ce musée en fin de journée quand les autocars de touristes sont partis… / The Göreme Open-Air Museum, the most visited place in the region, offers the finest collection of rock-cut churches with beautifully preserved frescoes. Unfortunately, it is forbidden to take pictures (too many tourists forget to turn off their flash!) But one of the guards allowed us to take some. Note that it is best to visit the museum in the late afternoon when the tour buses are gone…La Vallée d’Ilhara, situé à 80km au sud-ouest d’Uçhisar, regorge d’églises rupestres. Les fresques sont parfois très dégradées tandis que certaines sont encore en bon état. Malheureusement, au fil des ans, les visiteurs se sont sentis obligés de laisser leur marque et plusieurs des fresques sont maintenant recouvertes de graffiti. C’est vraiment dommage! / Ilhara Valley, located 80km south-west of Uçhisar, has many rock-cut churches. The frescoes are often highly degraded though some are still in good condition. Unfortunately, over the years, visitors have felt compelled to leave their mark and several frescoes are now covered with graffiti. It’s really a shame!Belisırma: Un village construite à flanc de falaise dans la Vallée d’Ilhara comptant plusieurs habitations troglodytes. / A town built on a cliff in the Ilhara Valley with several cave dwellings.Monastère de Selime: Ce site a été excavé au 6e siècle. De nombreuses pièces communiquent entre elles par des escaliers, des tunnels et des passages…on peut presque imaginer la vie des moines qui y habitaient il y a plusieurs siècles. / This site was excavated in the 6th century. Many parts communicate with each other by stairs, tunnels and passages…you can almost imagine the life of the monks who lived there many centuries ago.